Uganda has discharged eight people after they recovered from Ebola although at least 265 contacts remain under quarantine, its health minister said. The East African country declared an outbreak of the highly infectious and often fatal haemorrhagic disease late last month after one man - a male nurse at the Mulago National Referral Hospital in Kampala - died.

When the latest outbreak was declared, Uganda, with support from the WHO and other international partners, reactivated its emergency response plan and vaccinated high-risk groups, including health workers and Ebola patient contacts, using a trial vaccine. It was the first-ever Ebola vaccine trial for the Sudan strain.

Uganda has discharged eight Ebola patients, while 265 contacts remain under strict quarantine for monitoring, the health minister announced.

This is the eighth Ebola outbreak in Uganda since the first infection was recorded in 2000. The Sudan Ebola Virus Disease (SUDV) is a highly infectious haemorrhagic fever which is transmitted through contact with infected bodily fluids and tissues.